India facing the driest June in 5 five years, rainfall dropped by a third on average – IMD.
The monsoon usually covers nearly the entire country by July 1 but has covered less than two-thirds so far this year, according to the IMD data.
- Due to the late arrival of monsoon rains, India had its driest June in 5 years – Indian Meteorological Department.
- Overall rains were a third below the average – IMD data.
- The progress of monsoon was weakened by the Cyclone Vayu in the Arabian Sea, which drew moisture from it.
- In some areas the rains were even low with Uttar Pradesh recording 61% less rainfall.
- In 2014, India received 42% less rainfall in June.
Major impact on agriculture sector and economy
The major source of irrigation water is rainwater in India, with over half of India’s agricultural land depending on it. The economy would be affected very badly with the major burden on the companies providing equipment and machinery to farmers. India is a country dealing with a major water crisis and still recovering from last year drought.
The northern part of our country will be affected the most by this subdued rainfall. The Cotton, soybean and pulses growing western and central parts of India are likely to get good rainfall in the first half of July. The north-eastern part and north-western part will be least affected and are expected to get good rainfall by the 1st and 2nd half of July respectively.
To conclude, the government has earlier planned to address the issue of monsoon dependency for irrigation by its Rs. 5.5 lakh crore river-linking project. The project is still in its initial stages of feasibility study and planning, but this is the only hope for a future where irregular monsoon rains will affect farmers of our country much.
